MAC Unsung Heroes: Brun Eye Shadow

OUTSIDE VOICE: Eh, I dunno. I love it and all, but it’s a dark blackish brown shadow. I mean, that’s not very exciting, ya know?

MAC Brun Eye Shadow, $15

INSIDE VOICE: True dat. It’s no Club or Impassioned, but I think it’s still worth a shout-out, right? You wear it practically every day.

Plus, remember that trip when you forgot it at home?

OUTSIDE VOICE: Oh, boy.

INSIDE VOICE: You freaked-the-eff out! You had to track down the nearest MAC counter on your iPhone, and then had El Hub drive you there before you would agree to do anything else. That’s dedication, dude.

OUTSIDE VOICE: El Hub was so grumpy! He was like, “Are you kidding me right now!? Come on! We’re on vacation!”

Bless that man. He puts up with a lot of crazy sh*t. 🙂

OK, I guess you do have a point. Brun’s a great brow filler for brunettes. It’s warm-toned, not too reddish, and I’ve always liked that despite it being so dark, it doesn’t look harsh on my skin, and it’s interesting, too, how the satin finish looks almost matte.

Brun on NC42 skin

INSIDE VOICE: I’ve seen you use it for other things — not just for filling in your brows.

OUTSIDE VOICE: True, true. I also wear it a lot with slightly defined neutral eyes, where I’ll pat a little MAC Soft Ochre Paint Pot all over my lids, buff some MAC Mylar on top of that with a 224, then sweep a little Cork or Soft Brown in the crease.

For a little depth, I’ll take Brun, apply it in the outer corner or the outer crease, and do a quickie winged liner. I tell you, that’s the best classic neutral eye combo right there, I swear. It’s so easy! I can do it half asleep, LOL!

Think Mila Kunis-style eye makeup. You can totally get that with Brun and a black eyeliner.

I’ll line my water lines and lash lines with MAC Smolder Eye Kohl (which I love because it doesn’t irritate my eyes), smudge out the liner on my lash lines with a pencil brush or a flat eyeshadow brush, and then just blend Brun directly on top of the lash lines.

OUTSIDE VOICE: Oh! — and also, I almost forgot. When I’m running late for something and don’t have time to, you know, fully line my lash lines with a pencil, or just whenever I want a softer makeup look, Brun works great as a liner.

I’ll grab an angled brush, load it up with a little Brun, and use it to line my lash lines. It’s a lot easier than lining with a black shadow, I think, because the brown just seems to kind of hide any mistakes, you know?

Very convenient when I’m rushing.

INSIDE VOICE: Mm hmm, interesting… So what do you think now? Doesn’t Brun deserve some Unsung Hero lovin’? Am I gonna have to say, “I told you so”?

OUTSIDE VOICE: Haha! Well, I know you’ve been dying to…

INSIDE VOICE: I TOLD YOU SO! 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The MAC Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorite products from MAC’s permanent collection

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Comments

I love shadows in this kind of color! They are just so multipurpose, like you said. I usually use NARS Coconut Grove, since I don’t have Brun. But of course now I want it. Lol!Natalie recently posted … Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper

Karen,i love the originality of your writing! I’ve never seen it anywhere else like this, you always make me laugh! About Brun,I absolutely agree,the eyeshadow is an amazing brow filler. I use to have the mystery eyeshadow to do the job,but brun is more subtle on my nc15 skin!

So….I’m keen on the Kelly & Sharon Osbourne collection. When you did your review on the duo (Brun & Soba), and mentioned that you use Brun to fill in your brows….I have made it my mission to head to the MAC counter on the morning of the 12th.

Hi Karen,
No I haven’t tried the new fluidlines yet, they only have a few shades and as far as i’ve heard, they have a little bit of red in them, and i really don’t like that. Brun and Mystery are ‘natural’ browns,just what i need 🙂

I’m into natural brown shades for the brows as well. Thank goodness for all those great brow fillers…otherwise mine would look pretty wimpy, LOL! I blame the ’90s, which was when I plucked mine to virtually nothing.

Hope you’re having a nice Thursday so far! Got any plans for the weekend yet?

Perhaps this is the “dark brown with very little red” eyeshadow that I’ve been looking for. This NC50 gal is in the market for a lovely brown shade to use in my outer-v, or to smudge along my lower lash line , with a hint of black, when I’m going for a nude smokey eye look. Confused you, yet? Lol!

Kinda looking for something that works with a smokey nude eye that’s not too harsh when paired with either of my UD Naked palettes. I’ve got yellow undertones. Though I’ve been loving the Cover Girl Queen Collection Bronzer in Ebony Bronze (Q120)as my transition color, it has red undertones. This color would complement my neutral looks.

I absolutely love Brun! I have very very dark brown, almost black hair and this is my go to brow color-I’ve gone through like 5 of them! MUA always give me crap for using a color this dark for my brows but when you have three black hairs for eyebrows sometimes a light brown shadow just won’t cut it amirite?!

Hi Karen. I’m looking for a drugstore brand dupe of MAC eyeshadow in Brun (or actually, any dupe as long as it’s cheaper). I love the idea of a multi-purpose product for cheap and even cheaper. Any ideas? Mahalo nui.